


My Beloved Zombie Julia

by ShinyShimaron



Category: Kyou Kara Maou!
Genre: Angst, Crack, Gen, Horror, Other, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-03
Updated: 2010-09-03
Packaged: 2017-10-11 11:00:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/111694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinyShimaron/pseuds/ShinyShimaron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An accident involving the Wincott poison brings Susanna-Julia back from the dead as a zombie, and she seeks to steal Conrad's heart – literally. Yuuri, Wolfram, and Conrad must try to lay her to rest before it's too late!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mystery Begins

**Author's Note:**

> This story follows the line of a typical Kyou Kara Maou episode, silly mannerisms and all. Hints of Wolfram/Yuuri, Conrad/Julia and Conrad/Yuuri. Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters.
> 
> Warnings: Zombies, mild swearing, contains the normal sort of violence seen in the show.

All was dark at the Wincott residence, the grounds illuminated only by the moonlight. The occasional owl hooted and searched for its prey in the grass. Aside from that, the only sound that could be heard was the crunching of leaves under the feet of two suspicious characters, making their way through the woods.

"Don't drop it, idiot," said a man's voice gruffly. He was walking backwards, his hand feeling behind him for trees and any other obstacle that could get in his way. Following him was a shorter man, wearing a cap and struggling to hold up an old wooden box.

"I can't see nothing, it's too dark," he spat at the first man. Presently they were entering a field of freshly-cut grass fifty yards from Castle von Wincott. Both men fell silent and attempted to slowly navigate the field, hoping not to be caught by passing guards, and not to slip on the wet grass. Now all that could be heard was the sound of crickets chirping. All they had to do was find a safe place to hide the box until they were ready to unload its contents.

The two men didn't see the tree until it was almost too late. A giant oak tree stood in the middle of the field, most of its leaves having long fallen as autumn turned into winter.

"Watch out for the tree!" Shorty called out, and Gruffy shot a look behind him and began to navigate around it. Unfortunately, neither had thought to look towards the ground, where a well-maintained gravestone sat deceptively in the shadows. Gruffy's large foot hit the stone and he fell backwards, letting go of the box and flailing his arms in the air before hitting the ground.

"Idiot! I told you to watch out for obstacles," he roared, then quickly hushed and looked towards the castle. All was still quiet. In fact, nothing moved nor made a sound, not even Shorty, who lay prostrate on the floor, the old box by his side, open.

"Shit," said Gruffy, as he rolled Shorty's still body with his toe. "You got it all over you. Shit." He had to remove the evidence. Pulling two heavy gloves from his coat pocket he put them on, reaching down to grab Shorty's body, and dragged him back towards the forest, and safety.

What he did not see was the dirt below the grave beginning to stir, and a long, rotting hand penetrate the surface, grasping for freedom…

Outside of Blood Pledge Castle, two other figures could be seen jogging along a barely-used road. One looked up at the nearby mountains peaked with snow.

"It's getting cold," said Conrad, a few paces in front of his companion, keeping sharp watch as per usual.

"Mmhmm," Yuuri replied, unable to gasp out much more. They were approaching the castle along their usual route. On the palace steps Yuuri saw a young blonde man, poking at the ground with a stick, his face rested in the palm of his hand. Upon seeing his older brother and fiancé approaching, Wolfram immediately stood up and brushed himself off, pretending he hadn't been there all along.

"What took you so long," he muttered.

"It's a nice day out, Wolfram," Conrad answered, "Besides, we figured you could hold down the fort without us." He smirked and held open the door for Yuuri, Wolfram, and a disheveled Dorcas, returning from the stables looking exhausted.

"I don't see why I have to clean out the stables," he said, "Can't you find someone else to do it? It's creepy in there."

Wolfram scowled. "You slack off on every job we give you! Complain, complain, that's all we hear from you!"

"Sounds like someone I know," muttered Yuuri, "So, what am I supposed to do today?" he asked, looking at Conrad.

"You'd thing you'd know by now, hmm? Gwendal wanted you in his office, he said something about doing actual work for once. Better get to it." Conrad opened to door to Gwendal's office and took his usual position against the wall, while Wolfram threw himself in a chair, already looking bored.

"Well, Gwendal, what do you have for me today?" Yuuri asked with his usual earnestness.

Gwendal frowned and pushed a stack of papers towards his king.

"You need to read these and sign them."

"Can't you do it?"

"I have better things to do."

"Like what?"

"Like run the military." Wolfram and Conrad looked at each other and then rolled their eyes.

"Can't Gunter do it then?"

"He's busy too." Yuuri sighed and sat down at the desk. Of all his kingly duties, both official and invented by his own imagination, this was his least favorite.

He spent an hour going through form after form; a request here, a fan letter there. Wolfram had sunk down in his chair, staring at the books on the bookshelf, while Conrad stared out of the window blankly, arms folded. Neither noticed when a piece of paper fell out of the large stack onto the floor, addressed to King Yuuri from the Castle von Wincott.


	2. Journey to Castle von Wincott

After hours of cramping fingers and exasperated sighs, Yuuri came to the end of his pile of work, his amazing act of martyrdom accomplished. Wolfram and Conrad had long abandoned him, with Conrad citing "important military duties" and Wolfram citing "anything, just anything" as an excuse. Luckily, a freak assassination attempt by Japanese-style ninjas was not in the cards that day, and Gwendal and Conrad entered the office to find their king making paper airplanes out of government documents, of which one hit Gwendal in the eye.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked grumpily, unfolding the letter.

"I finished signing this paperwork, can I go now?" Yuuri asked hurriedly.

"You missed one." Gwendal stooped down to pick up the letter hiding under the desk. He opened it and began to read.

"What is it now?" Gwendal just stared at the letter.

"It's nothing. You can leave."

"Really? I mean, it's the last one, I might as well sign it-"

"No."

Conrad read over Gwendal's shoulder. "Huh. That's… odd…"

"I wanna read it! Come on, I'm the Maou, it's addressed to me!" Yuuri whined, trying to squeeze in between the two brothers.

Gwendal sighed. "It's from Castle von Wincott, that's all." Conrad nodded.

"Sounds like they're having some trouble down there."

"What kind of trouble?" asked Yuuri.

"I'm not sure, apparently there is some kind of mysterious creature causing trouble on the grounds, and they want us to send someone to investigate."

"A creature, huh?" Yuuri had that devilish look in his eye. The two brothers sighed. They knew what was coming.

"Well, we'd better go investigate! We can't have some monster terrorizing Shin Makoku! As Maou, it is my job to protect the people, don't you agree?"

"But…"

"Besides, we promised Julia's father we'd come visit, didn't we? We wouldn't want to disappoint him…"

"Yes, we did. I suppose there's no talking you out of it, at any rate."

Conrad smiled. Gwendal scowled.

"This is just going to cause more trouble."

"Ah, Gwendal, you're just angry because you'll have to do more paperwork," Conrad smirked and left the room.

"I'll break the news to Gunter."

After many sobs, tears, and much pleading from the long-suffering Gunter von Kleist, Yuuri, Wolfram, and Conrad left Blood Pledge Castle and set out for Wincott territory. While Conrad had spent much time there in the past, Yuuri had never been, and was excited to see it.

"Is the Castle Wincott one of those huge fancy palaces that the nobles live in?" he asked.

"Yes, it's very nice. I haven't been there in a while, though."

"I'm just glad I can get out of the castle, I've never been happier to see the sky in my whole life!"

"Stop exaggerating," snapped Wolfram, "You can't even remember the reason we left! We're going to fight some monster-thing, remember?"

"Oh, I'm sure it's just an animal or something, I just needed an excuse to go on a trip."

"… Of course you did." Conrad lagged behind the group, looking thoughtful.

Upon their arrival they were greeted by Delchias von Wincott. He bore a striking resemblance to his sister, Susanna-Julia.

"Welcome to Castle von Wincott, Your Majesty. It is very kind if you to come, though I was just expecting some investigative soldiers…"

"Soldiers are no match for me! I can solve any mystery!" Yuuri beamed, dismounting from his horse.

"His Majesty sees himself as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, eh?" said Conrad.

"What is that?"

"Nevermind." They made for the castle. All of its denizens seemed restless, constantly looking over their shoulders and seemingly afraid to round corners without assistance. Whenever they spotted a member of Yuuri's party their eyes looked downcast and they whispered among themselves.

"So, what is the problem here exactly?" Yuuri asked over dinner.

Delchias grew solemn. "There are a few problems, which I did not want to address in my letter. My father is away and if he found out…" his voice trailed off. "Anyway, I was hoping to get things sorted out here before you visited, especially you, Sir Weller."

"And why is that?"

Delchias' voice quieted once more, "Julia's grave… has been disturbed." The fork which had been halfway to Conrad's mouth fell to his plate with a clatter.

"Disturbed? By what?" asked Yuuri.

"I do not know. There was a disturbance in the courtyard several nights ago. We heard noises, but could not find the culprit. In the morning an investigation was launched, and at Julia's grave was the strangest sight: there was dirt everywhere, and the remnants of an old broken box lay next to the… the gravesite. And Julia… she was not there." All was quiet.

Wolfram broke the silence.

"Who would do such a thi-" He was interrupted by Conrad rising to his feet.

"We will help you solve this," he said, quietly, "At the very least, I will."

"There is something else you should know. Both in the castle and in the local townspeople have reported strange noises, things going missing. Apparently there is some sort of creature hanging around scaring people. We don't know what it is or what it wants."

"You don't think…" Wolfram started, "I mean, it could be a dog, digging up remains for fun-"

"Wolfram!" yelled Yuuri, "Don't refer to Julia like that in front of Delchias and Conrad, sheesh."

"Then what am I supposed to call her?"

"I think we've all had enough of this discussion, especially over dinner," said Conrad wearily, "Let's all go to bed and tomorrow we will investigate the problem." Everyone nodded in agreement and headed to bed.

That night, Conrad dreamed that he was tied down, unable to move. He heard a noise, scratch scratch scratch, like wood against cement, bone against floor… and felt the sensation that something was watching him. Through the darkness, he could only see one thing, a rotting hand, reaching towards his heart, grasping, with long, deadly claws. When they were but an inch away he woke up with a yell, grabbing his sword, ready to fight his opponent… but there was nothing there. The moon shone through the window. He looked out at the grassy field, now covered in stains of dirt and pieces of wood, and the tall tree where his Very Important Person had lay for twenty years. And out of the corner of his eye he caught glimpse of a flash of blue. There, on the floor. A lock of hair. Bright, light, beautiful. It was hers. He stooped down to pick it up. Yes, it was hers. He looked out of the window again. What was this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to spell Julia's brother's name "Delchias" even though it doesn't match the katakana for the name well because it is the most widely-used version of the name I can find and for the life of me I cannot figure out what is name is supposed to be. If anyone knows what his name actually is, let me know.


	3. The Search for Shorty

The next morning, everyone headed out early to inspect the gravesite. The ground was still covered in dirt from the recently-disturbed grave, and pieces of wood were strewn around on the grass. The soldiers had begun collecting it and cleaning up the area. Conrad watched them throw the slivers of wood in a pile, trying to determine where they came from and how old they were. Something told him that he shouldn't touch them. He had been up all night, thinking about what might have caused this to happen. A conversation he had once had with Gunter von Kleist was in the back of his mind.

Meanwhile, Yuuri knelt down by the empty grave. Inside it was a coffin that might at one time have been beautiful, but with age and decay had turned black and moldy.

"Ah, so I see, that's how it is," he muttered to himself, clearly wanting to play the part of the detective. Of course, he couldn't see anything beyond what was there: an empty coffin, with the body of the woman who had formerly held his soul nowhere to be found.

Wolfram stood a few feet behind him with his arms crossed.

"Just what do you hope to find kneeling there?" he asked, "It's undignified. You'll never get over the shame if you fall in."

"I'm not gonna fall in. Why don't you help clean up or something and stop bugging me?"

"Hmmph!" Wolfram strode off.

"I think the whole situation is making Wolfram uncomfortable," Delchias said, as Conrad joined him on a balcony overlooking the site.

"Who would be comfortable?" Conrad replied, "She was your sister, and my friend. There is no way you could possibly be comfortable here."

"And what about you, Sir Weller? You've seen many close friends die in the war. Does it ever get easier?"

Conrad sighed. "No, never. No amount of time can make it easier. Not when it's someone you love."

"I see that now. What it must be like. All I can think of is that whoever did this, or whatever, must pay for what they have done." Conrad nodded. The mere thought of what had happened to Julia nauseated him. He had seen so many people he cared about die. Friends from military school, people he had personally rescued from Dai Shimaron, promising a new and better life, becoming nothing but corpses on a battlefield soon after. But none of that compared to what had happened to his beloved Julia. She deserved better. She deserved justice.

"So, what do you think?" Delchias interrupted the silence.

"I have a theory, but you might not like it."

"Please go ahead, whatever it is."

"Gunter told me that long ago, the Wincott family used the Wincott poison to bring people back from the dead as slaves. Is this true?"

"Unfortunately, yes. The fact that this happened brings great shame to my family."

"So it's possible that…"

"I don't see how. The last of the Wincott poison was sent to the Shinou Temple months ago."

Conrad turned around and leaned against the balcony in thought.

"But it's true that Caloria sold the poison to Dai Shimaron in the last few years, is it not?"

"Even so, it's difficult to think that they could have replicated it…"

"But it's possible."

"Then how did it find its way here?"

"I do not know. But this is the only idea I have."

"I hope you are wrong. If you are right, then I can't think of a greater tragedy to befall this family."

As he said this a messenger came running up to the two of them.

"Lord Delchias!" he cried, his hands on his knees, out of breath, "There's trouble in the nearby town!"

"What is it?" Delchias asked urgently. Yuuri and Wolfram hurried over to hear what he had to say.

"There's… some sort of creature attacking people in the town! It's breaking through windows, searching through houses, one by one, as if it's looking for something…"

"Did you see what it looks like? What is it?" asked the others.

"I… I thought I saw a glimpse of it as I was leaving to deliver your message… I thought it was a man, but he was…" the messenger gulped and winced, "He was not quite right."

"We'll go check it out!" yelled Yuuri, "Come on everyone!"

"Your majesty, we can't just go barging in without knowing what we're dealing with, we have no idea how many there are or what they're after-"

"But they might have something to do with what happened to Julia!" said Yuuri, "Don't you want to find out? This could be our chance!"

"I will go with you all," said Delchias. Everyone turned to look at him. "If what Sir Weller suspects is true, you might need my help. Besides, I'm more than capable with a sword, thanks to him."

"Thank you for your support," Yuuri cheered with a fist pump.

"Well, stop standing around, let's find this thing already," said Wolfram. Conrad put his hand on the hilt of his sword and nodded. Beckoning to two soldiers to follow them, Delchias led to way to the nearby town.

As they approached the town, the first thing they noticed was that it was eerily quiet. It seemed that most people had locked themselves indoors out of terror. A few townspeople, however, had other ideas, and upon seeing Delchias they ran towards him calling his name.

"I saw him by the blacksmith, Lord Delchias!"

"I saw him near the grocer, the vegetables wilted and rotted as he walked by!"

"I almost caught one near Adali Fielder's house, swung a broom at the bastard and it ran off!"

"Did any of you see what it looked like?" asked Delchias.

"He was green!" cried one.

"No, he was grey, but his eyes definitely glowed green," said a second, racking his brain for more information, "And he smelled terrible too, like death itself."

"It had some sort of ooze leaking out of all its orifices," said the third, turning pale at the mere thought, "What are we going to do? The town is doomed!"

"Don't worry," said Yuuri, "I am the Maou, and I will save your town!" All three of them did a double take.

"Your majesty!" they squealed, "King Yuuri has come to save us! Just look at his black eyes and black-"

"Take them and their families to the castle for questioning," Delchias said to his accompanying soldiers, "And prepare for possible evacuations if we cannot find this thing." The soldiers saluted and ran off.

"Now, now, where to begin?" Yuuri asked, holding his chin with his hand.

"How about there?" asked Wolfram, pointing to the closest building. It was a home, and the window had clearly been broken by someone. They all approached the house.

"The broken glass from the window is on the outside," noted Conrad as they inspected it.

"Hmm, so that means that someone broke out of it and not in, right?"

"Right."

"I see, I see," Yuuri was still enjoying pretending to be Sherlock Holmes, despite the danger. "I wonder if anybody is home." He walked to the front door and knocked.

"Go away!" came a gruff reply from inside the house.

"Don't worry, I'm not a disgusting monster-creature," Yuuri said cheerfully, "I just want to ask you some questions!"

"I don't have any answers, the monster isn't here, just go away!" yelled the voice.

"Sheesh," said Yuuri, "Some people are so rude."

"Well, let's try another house," said Conrad. He strode towards the next building.

"It will take us all day if we go in one large group," said Delchias, "Not to mention the fact that the citizens might not like being interviewed by so many strange people. We should split up."

"I'll go with Yuuri!" said Wolfram, grabbing his arm, "Someone has to keep him out of trouble, and Conrad isn't very good at that!"

Conrad smiled. "All right, I'll inspect this house, you two go for that one. Delchias?"

"I think I'll question some of the local shop owners since the victims claimed they saw the creature among them," Delchias answered. They all went their separate ways.

Yuuri and Wolfram approached the first house and knocked on the door. Inside was a young woman with her two children.

"King Yuuri!" she gasped when she answered the door, "To what do I owe this honor?"

"Man, I should have died my hair," said Yuuri in response, "I don't like being treated like this."

"We're here to ask you some questions regarding the creature people have seen around," said Wolfram.

"Oh, sir, that is no creature, from what I've heard. It's a man!"

"A man?" asked Yuuri.

"I was talking to my sister's husband's cousin Arnaud," she started, "And apparently he saw the man near the forest early this morning! He was just standing there all creepy-like, not saying a word. Arnaud was going to report him to the authorities but he didn't seem to be hurting anybody. You know, I'm thinking Arnaud needs to be more civic-minded, you really have to obey the law and let the soldiers know what's going on, or else they can't keep order-"

"Thank you for your time!" said Wolfram, dragging Yuuri to the next residence.

"Hey, Wolfram! We weren't done!"

"What do you think was to be learned there? Or anywhere, for that matter? These people clearly do not know what's going on."

"You never know, one of these people might hold the key to the mystery!"

"Let's hurry up and find this creature, if Conrad finds it first he'll act all heroic and never let me live it down that he saved the day once again…" he grumbled.

"Ah, so it's a race now? I see." They skipped the next house, and almost skipped the third house when they heard a loud crash. Turning towards it they saw that the door to the residence was ajar.

"Could it be…?" asked Yuuri. Wolfram drew his sword and approached the door slowly.

It was a two-room house, from the looks of it. No one appeared to be home. A broken dish lay on the floor.

"I wonder how that happened?" Yuuri asked, bending down to look.

"It fell, obviously," said Wolfram with some irritation, "Let's check the next room." He slowly opened the door, revealing a mostly-empty room with a cot in one corner, and a man in the other, curled in a fetal position and looking terrified.

"It… he…" he could barely gasp out the words.

"What's wrong?" said Yuuri, bending down to help him up.

"The… the thing. It was here. It's still…" then he looked towards the far corner and his eyes widened. He bolted from the house, screaming in terror.

Yuuri and Wolfram looked at each other, and then slowly turned towards the offending corner of the room.

They had found what they were looking for. Or rather, it had found them.


	4. Yuuri's Very First Zombie Experience

Yuuri and Wolfram had come face-to-face with the object of their search. It was a man… sort of. He stood awkwardly in the corner of the room, with his arms dangling out as if he was reaching for something. A bit of drool, or some other bodily fluid, dripped down his chin. A similar fluid was dripping out of every orifice. Could it be brains? Blood? Yuuri couldn't tell from such a distance. It seemed as if the skin was rotting off of this thing… but it was clear that he could see them and sensed their presence. Indeed, as soon as they turned around to look at him he began inching towards them on unsteady legs, his head cocked lazily to one side. There was no doubt about it; this thing was a…

"Yuu-chan, do you know what to do if a zombie attacks you?" Yuuri heard his mother's cheerful voice as he remembered her handy advice, "You can never be too careful when you're in a dark alley-way, you know! And those people in the movies always do the wrong thing when they encounter zombies. Not my Yuu-chan, you will pay attention to what I am saying and remember this someday!"

"Yes, mom, what the heck do I do?" Yuuri said aloud.

"It's 'mama,' Yuu-chan! It's easy, see? You just take a sharp object and stab it into the zombie's brain stem! That way it'll be completely paralyzed and unable to eat your brains! Don't be afraid, you are the son of Jennifer of Yokohama! You can do it! Defeat that evil zombie!" the vision vanished.

"Um… thanks? But what do I stab it with?" Yuuri looked around, but there were no pointy objects in the vicinity, aside from Wolfram's sword…

"Yuuri!" came the familiar yell as Conrad ran into the room. As usual, his Yuuri's-in-danger sense had gone off at the right time. He took position between Yuuri and the zombie.

"Conrad! Stab its brain stem!" Conrad had his sword out, his left hand reaching back behind him, pushing Yuuri towards the wall.

"Please stay back!" he shouted.

Wolfram moved around him to face the zombie. "I saw him first, Conrad! I'll take him down!"

"Wolfram, it's dangerous-" Wolfram wasn't listening. He drew his sword. The zombie was incredibly slow-moving. Wolfram quickly ran to the other side of the zombie and with an impressive "HAH!" he ran the sword through its brain stem.

Nothing happened. The zombie moved forward at its usual pace, the sword sticking out of its neck.

"Wolfram, I can't believe you missed!" said Yuuri incredulously.

"He didn't miss. That old trick will not work. This zombie is controlled by some kind of magic, and only one thing can stop it." Yuuri was now pushed against the wall. He couldn't go any further. Conrad stood in front of him, deciding what to do next. Protecting Yuuri was his first priority.

But he didn't have to. The zombie wasn't interested in Yuuri. Its arm extended, it slowly moved towards Conrad. Closer and closer it came. Wolfram tried to get in between the two, waving his arms, but the zombie acted like he wasn't even there.

"Conrad…" Yuuri began to say.

"Listen to me, Your Majesty. Go with Wolfram and find Delchias. I will hold this thing here."

"But-"

"Go!" Wolfram grabbed Yuuri by the shirt and they both ran. As soon as they left the room, Conrad sheathed his sword. The zombie stopped its advance. Conrad leaned against the wall, arms folded.

"What do you want?" he asked. The zombie's eyes narrowed. A guttural sound came from its throat, but it could not speak. It reached out once more, not only two feet away from Conrad. It touched his chest, right over his heart. Conrad immediately grabbed the arm and twisted it. He felt the bone crack, but the creature was unrelenting.

"That's what you want, is it?" he asked, "Who are you?" The zombie then lifted his other arm, wrapping his rotting hand around Conrad's throat. Conrad immediately kicked the zombie in the stomach and threw him off. Withdrawing his sword once more, he pointed it at the zombie's head.

"If you will not stop, I will make this very difficult for you," he said, preparing to decapitate the creature.

"Stop!" came a cry from the doorway. The zombie stopped. It was Delchias.

"I am a member of the Wincott family," he said, "You must obey me. Stand down!" The zombie immediately obeyed, sitting on the ground with its rotted legs folded.

"Conrad, are you all right?" Yuuri cried, running towards him. Conrad had sheathed his sword and was once again leaning against the wall, as if nothing had happened.

"I'm fine. Did you think this thing could take me out?" he smirked. Inside, he was shaking at the thought of what the zombie wanted, and what this meant. He was beginning to put all of the pieces together, and it did not look good.

"O captive vessel of our ancestral arts, I release your body from its arcane binds." said Delchias, bending down and touching the zombie's shoulder. It shuddered as the magic binding it released, and the lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

"Then… this was like the Wincott poison?" Yuuri asked, confused.

"Yes, this man was affected by the Wincott poison," answered Conrad.

"Then why is he just laying there? Shouldn't his soul come back…?" Conrad looked away.

"It could be that his soul got lost as it flew away," answered Delchias, "as there was nothing to store it in. Perhaps it will find its way back. Either that or…" his voice trailed off.

"This would be a hell of a body to come back to," Wolfram winced, inspecting his broken arm and decaying flesh.

"I don't understand… who would do such a horrible thing?" asked Yuuri. "Where did the poison come from?"

"More than that, where did he come from," asked Wolfram. He glanced up. Conrad was looking out the window.

"My guess is… he came from there," he said, pointing to the first house they had encountered.

 

Delchias had covered the body in a cloth and ordered his men to take it back to the castle. The five of them were now standing outside the old house. Conrad knocked on the door.

"Whoever is in there, come out!" cried Delchias.

"I said, go away! That creature isn't in here!" came the answer.

"We just want to talk to you!" Yuuri called encouragingly.

"I'm not coming out!" Conrad shrugged and kicked down the door. There came a loud squeak from inside.

"Who the hell are you people, breaking and entering?" yelled Gruffy as the five investigators entered the house.

"It's not trespassing if I allowed him in," said Delchias coolly, "This town belongs to the Wincott family."

The man looked at him sharply. "You demons have to control everything, can't you? You can't leave well enough alone."

"So you're a human, then?" asked Wolfram. "I should have known."

"What are you doing here in Shin Makoku?" asked Yuuri.

"I'm just here on business. Selling things to the Wincott family. That's legal, isn't it?"

"I don't remember ordering anything from the human lands," said Delchias, "Care to elaborate?"

"What I was selling… the Wincotts didn't know they needed," said Gruffy off-handedly.

"And what was that?"

"Nothing. It's gone now, I was just getting ready to leave-"

"What did you do," said Conrad quietly, "with her body?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you a gravedigger? Thinking you could disturb the dead and steal their things? Were you planning on selling Julia back to her own family?" he was close to Gruffy now. There was anger in his eyes.

Gruffy recoiled at the sight of him. "I… really, I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't mess with any bodies…"

"Then you'd better tell us what is going on here," said Conrad, "We have the body of a fellow human and we know you have something to do with it." Gruffy sighed.

"Fine. Just know that it wasn't my fault, I'm just a messenger. I didn't mess things up, he did." Yuuri sat down and smiled.

"Don't worry," he said, "Just tell us what happened and you won't be punished."

"Your Majesty…" Conrad sighed and looked away. Then he nodded.

"It was the Wincott poison," Gruffy said. Everyone turned their attention to him. "Dai Shimaron had manufactured some of it a couple of years ago. However, they could never get it to work; it could only be controlled by a member of the Wincott family, so it was useless to us."

"Go on."

"My friend and I, we had a plan to make it big, you see. We'd steal the poison from Dai Shimaron and bring it here, and try to sell it back to the Wincotts. We figured that they would pay any price to get the poison out of Dai Shimaron's hands, and we'd be rich."

"That's really horrible," said Wolfram.

"Unfortunately my companion bungled it and we dropped the poison. He spilled it all over himself and… well, you saw what happened."

"What I don't understand," said Delchias, "is how he was moving without a member of the Wincott family controlling him." Conrad walked forward, and Gruffy again recoiled.

"Whatever happened, we should take you back to the castle," he said. "Your friend is there, and if his soul finds his body you two can leave together. But we have some more questions for you."

"Why should I trust you?" Gruffy asked suspiciously.

"When you offered to sell us the poison we could have easily killed you and taken it for free," said Delchias. "Clearly you trusted us enough not to do that, so you should have no problem with this. We won't hurt you unless you give us reason to. Besides," he added, "I don't think Dai Shimaron is too happy with you now after what you did." With that, he stood up and beckoned to the others to head back to the castle.


	5. My Beloved.

The investigators began to head back to Castle von Wincott. As they got closer and closer to the castle they became uneasy. Something was wrong. The sky seemed a little darker; a dark fog hung above their heads… and it was completely silent. There was no sound of birds, or crickets. Even their own footsteps seemed muffled.

They rounded the final grove of trees in front of the castle, but something moved them all to stop. They couldn't quite tell what it was, only that there was a strong sense that they were being watched.

There was a rustle in the nearby bushes. Conrad's hand automatically grabbed the hilt of his sword as he turned towards them.

"There's something in those woods," he said. Before the others could react there was a cry coming from the castle.

"Your Excellency!" cried a soldier, running towards the group, "Your Excellency, something terrible happened while you were away…"

"What happened? Did you find Julia?" asked Delchias.

"No, sir. It happened when we were cleaning up the field. Some of the soldiers decided to put that wooden box back together… they touched it with their bare hands…"

"That box might have contained the Wincott poison," said Conrad, "and it's likely that the poison touched the wood."

"The soldiers that touched the box… they just fell over, like they were dead."

"They need to be more careful. I will release them from the curse, and hopefully their souls did not get too far away to return." said Delchias

"There's something else. Soon after the soldiers collapsed, they began to rise again."

"What? They started walking?" asked Yuuri and Wolfram together.

"Yes sir. Their bodies moved around, like someone was controlling them. We tried to contain them, but they all got away and went into the woods. Most of the soldiers are too afraid to pursue them."

"That's impossible," said Delchias, "How could they be moving if there was no one from the Wincott family controlling them?"

"It could be… that there is someone from the Wincott family controlling them." said Conrad slowly.

"But who? My father and my son are away, I am the only member of the family here…"

"You are not. Julia is here as well." Everyone went silent. Delchias slowly walked to the castle, looking perplexed and defeated. The others followed him.

"For now, I can call the victims of the poison back here so that I may release them."

"Is it possible that… you might call Julia back too?" asked Wolfram.

"I… I don't know…" He closed his eyes and raised his arms.

"Captive vessels of our ancestral arts, come to me at once!" he cried, facing the woods. At first, there was silence. Everyone waited with baited breath. Then, there was a rustle in the leaves, and the soldiers came. Five of them total, they slowly marched to Lord Delchias, as if they were sleepwalking. Their skin was not rotted like the first victim, likely because they had not been poisoned for long. They all lined up in front of their master.

"I release your bodies from their arcane binds!" said Delchias, touching the shoulders of the soldiers one by one. And one by one they collapsed to the ground. There was silence for a moment, and then the right-most soldier awoke! Sitting up, he looked around.

"Thank goodness, I'm back on the ground again!" he cried. The other soldiers began to wake as well, all expressing their gratitude.

"What happened to you all?" asked Delchias solemnly.

"Please sir, I am very sorry if we caused any harm. We decided to try to put together the box again, to see if there were any clues as to who had made it. But when we reached down to gather the splinters, our souls immediately released from our bodies and rose into the air! We couldn't control it. My soul hung around the highest tower of the Wincott Castle..."

"Mine went all the way up to the clouds! I started trying to guess what they looked like, there was one that looked like a rabbit, one that looked like…"

"My soul floated around the third floor and then entered the maid's room, saw some lovely sights in there I'll tell you-"

"That is enough," said Delchias. "Take these men to the infirmary for now." Then Delchias entered the house and beckoned to the others to follow. They entered one of the living rooms and sat down to discuss what they had learned.

"So… you guys think that Julia was affected by the Wincott poison and is a zombie?" asked Yuuri.

"That is the most logical explanation," said Conrad.

"But… if her bo… I mean she's affected by the poison, why didn't she return when Delchias called?" Wolfram interjected.

"I do not know for sure. It's possible that being a Wincott, she has control of her own body, and cannot be controlled by anyone else."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," said Yuuri, "Julia has been dead for twenty years, wouldn't she just be a skeleton by now? That's not as scary."

"Just like they age, demons decay much slower than humans," Conrad replied.

"… What? Are you serious?" The others looked at him. They were serious.

"That's… okay then." Delchias looked up from a stupor.

"What we need to do is to decide the next course of action," he said. "I can't bear the thought of my sister being in this state. We need to find a way to release her and bring her back to rest."

"How can we release her if we don't even know where she is?" said Wolfram. "We'd have to find a way to lure her… what does she want the most? What is her motivation?" Conrad looked away.

"Conrad?" asked Yuuri. "Do you know what Julia might want?"

He looked slowly at Yuuri and after a pause, shook his head.

"No."

Yuuri suspected that this was the same 'no' Conrad had given him several times before. A 'no' with strings attached.

Delchias stood up and stretched. "I suppose the least we can do is make sure the Wincott poison does not harm anybody else," he said, "I need to make some arrangements for the remnants of its container to be disposed of and to have the area cleaned. If you see anything suspicious, let me know." He left.

"Conrad, do you really not know-"

"It's getting late, Your Majesty," Conrad interrupted as he rose, "Let's get some dinner and go to bed. I can't talk anymore about this." Yuuri saw the tiredness on his face and complied.

Yuuri and Wolfram both lay in the room they were sharing, unable to sleep. The image of the zombies they had encountered that way entered their minds the moment they closed their eyes. Yuuri rolled over and looked at his fiancé.

"Wolfram," he said, "Are you awake?"

"I'm trying to sleep!" Wolfram lied, "I can't sleep when you're always trying to talk."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about Julia. Do you think Conrad is upset?"

Wolfram sat up. "Of course he is, this whole situation is disgusting. Wouldn't you be?"

"I don't know, it seems weird… I mean, it's Julia's body, but it's not her, right? Her soul is gone, it's…" He stopped himself from admitting to Wolfram that Julia's soul was his soul.

"No, even if she still had her soul, the poison would have ejected it," said Wolfram. "But it does have her brain… her thoughts… maybe that's what's controlling her. Her old thoughts."

"I guess you're right." Yuuri rolled over again and Wolfram lay back down.

Still, Yuuri was not at ease. He felt that he should have some sort of connection with Julia's body. He did, after all, have her soul. But he felt nothing, as if she was a completely separate entity.

"I guess, in the end, if she is soulless, then it's just a body."

"What do you mean?"

"But the reason Conrad and Delchias are upset is because of the memory of her, right? That body isn't Julia, but they can't bear to see her this way because of their love…"

"What are you going on about, Yuuri?"

"I guess I'm just thinking that Julia, the real Julia, wouldn't be hurt by this. I wouldn't want her to be."

"How could you even know? She's gone."

"You're right." Yuuri stared at the ceiling. He wanted to tell Conrad and Delchias that it was going to be okay, that Julia was at peace… but Conrad knew that, didn't he?

 

***

 

Nearby, Conrad poured Delchias a drink.

"It's been a long day," he said. They both knocked back the glasses.

"I can't sleep, you know," Delchias said. "I won't be able to until we find her again."

"Don't worry, I have a feeling she will show up. We will solve this."

"How do you know?"

"It's just a hunch."

Delchias sighed and walked to the window. "More than anything, I want to know that she is at peace," he said. "I can't stand the thought of Julia suffering…"

Conrad looked up at him for a long time. "I don't think you need to worry about that."

As the two left and readied for bed, each thinking about Julia and her horrible predicament, a grotesque figure inched its way along the side of Castle von Wincott. A decaying, bony hand touched the surface of the wall. She sensed his presence. She heard it beating.

She had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random lore question: If Yuuri's blood was sufficiently "Wincotty" to activate the box because he has Juila's soul, does that mean he is also sufficiently "Wincotty" to control victims of the Wincott poison? Like Gunter, for instance? Why bother sending for a Wincott when you have Yuuri? Or does it only work on the box?


	6. Zombie Julia.

All was quiet in Castle von Wincott. Everyone from the soldiers to the dogs lay silent, as if trying to become as small and quiet as possible so as not to attract the attention of… whatever was out there.

Yuuri and Wolfram both lay awake in their room. Delchias paced back and forth in his. And in the last room sat Conrad, on his bed, fully clothed. His fingers were wrapped around the hilt of his sword. He didn't know what to expect exactly. He didn't know where she would come from, or when. All he knew is that she was coming for him. For his heart. That is what she wanted.

He wasn't sure why. While his feelings for Julia had been very strong, and still were strong, as far as he knew she did not love him back. Not like that. But sill she came for him. Was her zombie form acting on some decayed thought, long dormant? Or perhaps his heart had some kind of property that was attractive to zombies. But it didn't matter. She had to be subdued. He couldn't let his feelings get in the way…

The silence continued. It grew more terrifying as time passed. Yuuri found himself creeping under the covers, like a child that believes that as long as no skin is exposed, the monster cannot get him. He did not notice that Wolfram was sitting up, guarding his fiancé from whatever danger might befall them.

Conrad had left his room. He had decided that if Julia was going to come for him, it should be away from Yuuri and the others so that no one would get hurt. He would convince her to let go and lay herself to rest. It was only fitting, he thought, that he be the one to do so. He stood outside, near the stables under Delchias' room. It was dark, and he couldn't see much, but he would know when she came to him.

Above him on the second floor there was a yell. Yuuri and Wolfram both sprang out of bed immediately and ran down the hall towards the noise. Could it be…? They heard a voice.

"I… I release you from your body!" Delchias was crying, "Get back! You are not Julia!"

They both entered the room and froze in terror.

Before them was what had once been known as Julia. She was by far the most grotesque thing any of them had ever seen. Years of rotting and decaying had caused her flesh to begin to melt away, and strips of leathery skin were completely gone, revealing the bones and muscle underneath them. Moss was growing out of every orifice, which could hardly be noticed next to the sickly green color that was her skin. She had been buried in her uniform, now dirty and disgusting, hanging in tatters off of her rotting, bony arms.

The only way anyone could know that this was Julia's body was the tangled light-blue hair on her head, chunks of which were falling out unceremoniously. Her eyes, being useless to her in life, had completely rotted away, and were of no more use in death. She reached out with long, sharp claws toward her brother, who was backed up against the bed, a look of horror and disgust on his face. He was doing everything he could to release her…

"I am Delchias von Wincott! You must obey me… Please…" Nothing happened. It wasn't working.

"Get away from him!" yelled Wolfram, grabbing his sword.

"Wolfram, no!" cried Yuuri, "Don't hurt her!" Zombie Julia slowly turned around, her black eye sockets fixed on the two intruders. They once again froze, gripped in complete and utter terror. The zombie took one step towards them.

They both started running, yelling at the top of their lungs. They had completely lost their heads. As they ran they passed Conrad, uncharacteristically swearing as he sprinted to get to Delchias' room.

"Delchias! Get out," he said quickly.

"No, I can release her if I just try…"

"Take His Majesty and Wolfram and hide, there is nothing you can do, only I can release her." Delchias nodded. While he did not want to leave Conrad with the beast, he knew that making sure the king was safe was most important. He left. Conrad shut the door behind him, and then turned to face her.

"You…" he said, unable to even utter her name. Julia began her advance, prepared to take his heart. And to Conrad's surprise… he found himself mesmerized. This was Julia. For twenty long years… all he had wanted was to see her one last time. He had never thought that this would be the unpleasant way it would happen. But it was her… it had her mind, and she recognized him. She recognized Conrad. And for a fleeting moment he debated letting her get what she wanted. He couldn't move. She was free to have her way with him.

Down the hall, Yuuri and Wolfram had stopped. Why had they run? It was like they had been overcome with fear and could think of nothing but getting away, but now that they were they realized how silly it had been.

"King Yuuri!" cried Delchias, running towards them.

"Delchias, you're all right!" said Yuuri, catching his breath. "What happened to Conrad?"

"He is dealing with that monster," Delchias replied, "He ordered me to get you to safety, please come with me."

"What? No, we can't leave Conrad behind! We have to help him!" Yuuri cried.

"But-"

"Yuuri is right, who knows what that thing is capable of, Conrad needs out help." Wolfram stood up straight.

Delchias nodded. "We will all go."

In Delchias' room, Conrad had his sword pointed at Julia, but he could not move. It wasn't until he heard Yuuri calling his name that he was broken from his stupor. He knew what he had to do.

Yuuri reached the door first and threw it open.

"Con-"

"You are not Julia." Yuuri stopped.

"She would not have wanted this. What would you gain by stealing my heart? Would I be yours forever? Would you be restored to your former glory? No, you would just take from this world someone who was important to her. You would bring shame to her name and despair to those who loved her." The zombie stopped her advance.

"You are just a body, a vessel that once contained a very important person. But her soul is no longer with you. Her soul is safe, in a happy place. You do not need to be here. You can rest."

"Conrad…" Yuuri said. He looked at the zombie before him. She cocked her head towards him as well. And suddenly a realization seemed to come upon her, as if she knew who Yuuri was and what was inside of him. She could never have Conrad's heart, because his heart belonged to the one that was inside of Yuuri. And she was angry. She wanted that soul back. It was hers. And once again, she began her advance, towards a different target.

"Why are you going after me?" Yuuri asked, backing into a corner, "I didn't do anything!" The blade of a sword was balanced between Julia and Yuuri. It was Conrad's. He was ready to do what was necessary, and this time he would not be taken in.

"You cannot do this," he said, "I will stop you." Julia did not relent. She would have Yuuri's soul, she would never stop. The kindness of Julia was not in this body. It had been gone for twenty years. All that was left was the decaying mind of a body seeped in the selfishness of people. She had one goal.

"Do not take another step!" yelled Delchias. Wolfram drew his sword as well.

"Stay back, Wolfram!" Conrad yelled.

"Just kill her already, Conrad! What are you waiting for?"

Conrad was waiting for her to redeem herself. He couldn't bear for it to end this way… but this was as long as he could wait. He lowered his sword. Julia, thinking that Conrad had given in, gurgled and quickly advanced towards Yuuri.

"HAH!" yelled Conrad as he decapitated her. Her head went flying off, hitting the wall and rolling across the floor. Bits of bodily fluids and moss went flying everywhere and splattered the five of them from head to toe.

"Ugh, zombie juice!" yelled Yuuri.

"You did it!" said Wolfram. But he hadn't. Julia's body was not deterred. She continued to reach out for Yuuri, for his soul. Conrad lowered to sword, preparing to do more damage.

"Conrad, stop!" said Yuuri.

"I must do this. I'm sorry, Yuuri."

Yuuri shook his head, and to everyone's surprise, reached out and grabbed Julia's rotting hand. A glow surrounded the both of them.

"It's okay," he said, "You can release your body. You don't want to get hurt anymore, do you? Your soul is safe. Nothing bad will happen to it, I promise. It lives again, and has many friends, and is happy. People still remember you, and love you. Please trust me."

Conrad lowered his sword. Yuuri was right. He couldn't hurt her anymore, it was too painful. Yuuri was the new owner of her soul. It was his right to decide what became of her, and it was his job to lay her to rest again.

For a second Julia stood suspended, as if she was considering what Yuuri had said. Her decaying brain tried to process it. Her soul… is still loved. Julia… is still loved. Julia will always be loved. Hurting others would not help her. The only one who could help her was herself. She was a captive vessel of her own family's ancestral arts, and now it was time to be freed. The glow faded.

She shuddered. And like a doll being dropped to the ground she collapsed, lifeless, as if she had never moved and a gravedigger had simply deposited her rotted body there as a cruel joke. The others just stood there, staring. And then all at once, they looked away.

Delchias grabbed a sheet from his bed and covered her body, attempting to grant her one last ounce of dignity. Conrad turned and left the room, instructing Yuuri and Wolfram to go back to bed. They sat in their room, not talking, just thinking. Conrad left the building.

Delchias found him, throwing up violently in the flowerbed outside.

"You hide your feelings very well," he said, leaning on his side against the wall.

Conrad wiped his mouth and stood up.

"Years of practice." He gave a passing glance to the open grave and went back inside without saying another word.


	7. Epilogue.

The sun shone at Castle von Wincott once again. The adventurers had been at the castle for several days. Julia had been reburied, her family and friends attending the grave, attempting in vain to forget the past and to once again celebrate her life. But the ransacked field and horrifying memories made it very difficult for them. The man they had captured had left the castle soon after, alone.

After several days Cecilie von Spitzveg arrived with an entourage from Blood Pledge Castle. She had brought hundreds of flowers to plant around the field under which Julia lay. They spent the day making it look more beautiful than it ever had been. Yuuri stood near the tree, surveying their work. Wolfram turned to him.

"There's something you never explained," he said.

"What is it?"

"How do you know that Julia's soul is at peace?" asked Wolfram.

Yuuri laughed nervously. "I just know. I mean, she had a really good soul, right? There's no way Shinou wouldn't have taken care of it after she died. Right?"

Wolfram looked up, thinking. "I guess that makes sense."

Nearby, Conrad stood quietly, staring down at the place where Julia had been buried. He had been there all afternoon. Everyone had sensed his broken heart and avoided him completely. It felt as if all of those years of recovery had been swept away, and he had been destroyed again. But he would overcome this. He could overcome anything. Julia wanted it that way. He turned around and entered the castle, unable to look anymore. Yuuri saw him and sighed. He spotted Cecilie planting flowers near the castle and went to join her, with Wolfram in tow.

"Cheri-sama," he said, "Thank you for coming."

"It is nothing, Your Majesty. You know, Julia was my friend as well. I was never able to make her wedding dress, but at least I can make her resting place almost as beautiful." She smiled.

"Cheri-sama… is it possible to… love again?"

"Love again? You mean to love another person after you have lost, Your Majesty?"

"Yeah…"

"What, His Majesty has already found and lost his one true love? My, you're fast," she teased.

"I'm not talking about me! I'm talking about… Conrad," Yuuri replied sheepishly. "I mean, to hold such strong emotions for someone that has died… it's been twenty years… can someone ever get over that?"

"You're such a wimp," Wolfram muttered, though smiling slightly.

"Your Majesty, I think you know the answer to your question, 'Is it possible to love again'. By all accounts, I have loved many men, each as much as the next." She reached out and touched the petals of a Secret Gwendal. "The love I have shared has given me many things. Look at these flowers. Each flower is different and beautiful and lovely. But to produce each one I had to let go of a love I had lost and learn to love again. It wasn't easy. It never is. But it's a part of life." She smiled. "Of course, it is true that the more one loves, the more sorrow one may experience in a lifetime. But also, the most happiness, I think. I am a very happy woman. And Conrad… is very happy too, I think."

"I guess so."

"Why, are you looking to set him up with someone? Because I have some ideas, I've actually been dying to-"

"No no no, nothing like that," Yuuri rolled his eyes, "I just want… him to find happiness, I guess."

"We all create our own happiness, Your Majesty. One day Conrad may be able to find someone to love again, but in the meantime…" she smiled sweetly, "Leave meddling in the affairs of love to me! I am the expert." She rose.

"Speaking of which, when are you two going to tie the knot? I have a special flower planned just for you two…" she giggled and hugged Wolfram, who had unsuccessfully attempted to evade her. They left the grave and headed inside. All around the area there were pale blue flowers, called _Julia Heals the Earth_, sprouting for the first time.


End file.
